Time to Reload for Texas

Jon Daniels

by Kyle Stafford

If a 22-10 loss on their home field wasn't bad enough, it came on the same day their ace was on the mound. Yu Darvish gave up 10 runs all earned in what may have been his worst outing of his career. This comes just after a report surfaced that Texas would be willing to move Darvish for the right price by the trade deadline.

While the Rangers may end up keeping the righty anyway, this has to put a dent into what they might get back in a trade if they opted to go that route. Teams may be a little more skeptical now to part ways with a top prospect for a player coming off such a terrible start. It may have been just one bad game or maybe he wasn't fully focused because of the trade rumors, but either way things couldn't have gone worse Wednesday night.

Wednesday's loss may have been the final nail in the coffin for the Rangers with the trade deadline just a few days away. They are still in the Wild Card race, but is it really worth it to go for it this season? Why not just trade Darvish and some other movable pieces and reload a farm system that could use an upgrade?

Even with the terrible start from Darvish, he is still one of the best pitchers on the market and Texas will get a quality player or two in return. Take the best offer available on him and others to better the organization for another run either next year or in 2019. This isn't a full rebuild situation, but obviously there are areas that need to be reworked if the Rangers want to be competitive again in the American League.

If they decide to keep the team together and make a run at the postseason, it could very well damage the future of the Rangers. Trade what you have and reload for next season or 2019. Plus, who knows, Darvish may even re-sign in the offseason.